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'DA's frequent tantrums quite frankly embarrassing,' says GOOD Party

'DA's frequent tantrums quite frankly embarrassing,' says GOOD Party

JOHANNESBURG - The GOOD Party says the Democratic Alliance's (DA) decision to withdraw from the National Dialogue demonstrates that it is participating in the Government of National Unity (GNU) for its own interests, rather than those of South Africans.
At a media briefing on Saturday, the party announced it would boycott the dialogue until ministers facing corruption allegations are removed from office.
READ: DA won't participate in National Dialogue if Ramaphosa doesn't fire corruption-accused ministers - Steenhuisen
The latest dispute was sparked by President Cyril Ramaphosa's dismissal of the DA's Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Andrew Whitfield, over an unauthorised international trip.
GOOD Party's Brett Herron said the DA was choosing to walk away instead of working towards solutions.
"This latest tantrum, triggered by the president's refusal to yield to an artificial 48-hour ultimatum, is not a principled stand - it is political theatre. The DA's ultimatum was exposed as inconsequential, and their frequent tantrums are quite frankly embarrassing.
"South Africa does not need parties walking away from dialogue. It needs leadership that can engage with complexity, manage disagreement maturely, and stay the course. The DA's decision to abandon the national dialogue, while clinging to its GNU positions, exposes the contradiction in its stance."
ALSO READ: Whitfield's axing disproportionate when compared to transgressions of ANC ministers - DA leader John Steenhuisen

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Speak to citizens in their language, officials told at Social Media Summit for Government
Speak to citizens in their language, officials told at Social Media Summit for Government

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Speak to citizens in their language, officials told at Social Media Summit for Government

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Analysts warn DA-led no-confidence vote could topple Ramaphosa
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IOL News

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Analysts warn DA-led no-confidence vote could topple Ramaphosa

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'Don't test us': Zille warns Ramaphosa that tabling no-confidence motion in him not an idle threat
'Don't test us': Zille warns Ramaphosa that tabling no-confidence motion in him not an idle threat

Eyewitness News

time2 hours ago

  • Eyewitness News

'Don't test us': Zille warns Ramaphosa that tabling no-confidence motion in him not an idle threat

CAPE TOWN – Democratic Alliance (DA) federal chair Helen Zille said that tabling a motion of no confidence in President Cyril Ramaphosa was not an idle threat. She said that by not acting against corruption-accused within the African National Congress (ANC)'s ranks, Ramaphosa was proving not to be any different from them. On Saturday, the DA dug in its heels, saying that it would not be withdrawing from the Government of National Unity (GNU) despite its outrage at the firing of its Eastern Cape leader, Andrew Whitfield, as a deputy minister. Ramaphosa cancelled his travel to Spain over the weekend to manage the fallout. Groupings, both within the DA and the ANC, want the parties to terminate their working relationship within the GNU. But the DA remains adamant that it won't leave on a whim. However, Zille said Ramaphosa must not test her party. "I like to live by the three strikes, and you are out, maxim. So, this is the second big strike, and believe me, we discussed at length about a motion of no confidence in the president." Despite the DA's federal executive opting not to go this route in response to what the party believes has been a disproportionate sanction for Whitfield, Zille said that a motion of no confidence in Ramaphosa was not off the table. "If the president shows that he's indistinguishable from the corrupt radical economic transformation faction in his party, well then, there's no point in being in a coalition with him at all. So, we are saying, don't test us because we are prepared to use the nuclear option." For now, the party has chosen to withdraw from the National Dialogue, a move that could see the president's wrath shift to other DA ministers. ALSO READ: 'Even if DA walks away, GNU will not collapse' - ANC's Mbalula

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